Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a needle assembly having a safety mechanism (that is, comprised of a needle and attachment parts).
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, different types of needles such as needles for a hypodermic syringe and a catheter have been applied to a medical tool. Here, a user (such as a health care worker) has to safely handle those needles. Otherwise, if a user erroneously sticks such a needle used for a patient or the like into the user's own body (finger or the like), the user may be infected with a disease.
Herein, there may be a method for preventing such a sting accident from happening, for example, including a means of covering a used needle with a cylindrical cap. However, even in this method, a user may erroneously stick a needle into one of user's fingers holding the cap. Therefore, this method cannot be perfectly safe for preventing a sting accident.
Regarding other methods, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a technique for preventing a sting accident by using a needle assembly comprised of a sheath (or shield) for covering a needle. According to that technique, a user can utilize the needle assembly in the steps of: using a needle for a medical treatment; pivoting a sheath by finger(s) so as to cover the used needle with the sheath; and fixing the state that the used needle is covered by the sheath.